Michele L. Hammers
Education
Ph.D., Communication Studies, May 2004
 Concentration in Rhetoric
 Sub-emphasis on: Public Sphere Studies, & Feminist Media
Studies
 Dissertation Title: “The Vagina Monologues: Staging
Complex Questions about Rhetorical Theory and Feminist
Practice”
 Dissertation Advisor:
Dr. Daniel C. Brouwer
Committee Members:
Dr. Thomas K. Nakayama
Dr. Sharon Crowley
Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona
M.A., Humanities, May 2000 (Concentration in Media/Film Studies)
 Thesis Title: “Performing Gender While Practicing Law:
Critical Readings of Performed Femininity in Ally McBeal”
 Thesis Advisor: Dr. Johnson Kent Wright
Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona
J.D., with honors, May 1995
The University of Texas at Austin, School of Law, Austin, Texas
B.S., Business Administration, summa cum laude, May 1992
Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts
School of Management Honors Program, Fall 1988 to Spring 1990
Texas A & M University, College Station, Texas
Teaching
Experience
Assistant Professor (Fall 2004 to Present)
Communication Studies Department, Loyola Marymount University
CMST 204
CMST 303
CMST 495
Graduate Teaching Assistant (Fall 2000 to Spring 2004),
Hugh Downs School of Human Communication, Arizona State University

Com 323, Communication Approaches to Popular Culture (Fall 2003): This
course serves the dual functions of introducing students to the process of
rhetorical criticism and exploring particular theoretical frameworks through which
popular culture artifacts can be understood and analyzed. Students are asked to
engage in extensive written work as they engage popular culture artifacts drawn
from their own lived experiences. Theoretical frameworks include Marxism and
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ideological critique, structuralism and poststructuralism, and feminism(s).
Particular topics include: psychoanalytic approaches to popular culture, feminist
critiques of masculinist ideology and heteronormativity, and Orientalism and
other issues of race in popular media.

Com 407, Advanced Critical Research Methods (Summer 2003): This course
serves as the senior capstone course for our undergraduate students. The course
requires students to engage in twenty to twenty-five hours of service learning,
upon which they base their semester project. Utilizing ethnographic methods,
students are asked to explore their service-learning site, identify a need or needs at
the site, and use their communication background to address the need(s) through a
practically-oriented product. Course content includes a basic introduction to the
paradigmatic principles that traditionally guide naturalist or interpretivist
research, a practice oriented introduction to ethnographic inquiry (including field
observation, the use of fieldnotes as a process of data collection and construction,
and data coding and analysis).

Communication 421, Rhetoric of Social Change (Spring 2003): This upperdivision Rhetoric course focuses on the rhetorical strategies deployed in the
pursuit of social change. Relying on a body of rhetorical theory focused on
counterpublics and social movements, the course aims at building the students’
understanding of how individuals and collectives work to fulfill their particular
goals. The purpose of this course is to consider the broad strategies and the more
particular tactics deployed in pursuit of social change and to explore the complex
situations that shape choices among them. Students complete a semester long
rhetorical analysis of a contemporary social movement.

Communication 308, Research Methods (Winter, Summer, Fall, and Spring
Semesters, 2001-2003): This course covers basic quantitative and qualitative
research methods, introduces univariate statistical analysis, explores the
development and use of communication theory, and emphasizes research ethics.
The class revolves around a semester long writing project that takes the students
from the initial steps of identifying and exploring a research topic and writing a
literature review, to the proposal of a research project that includes plans for
sample selection, complete instrumentation, and other necessary design factors.

Communication 484, Communication Internship (Fall 2000 to Spring 2002): The
goals of the of the internship program is to promote professional development via
practical experience and the application of communication principles and training
in the workplace. Course topics include: employment law, leadership styles,
interview techniques, and professional development.
In my position as Internship Coordinator, I served as the primary contact for
students enrolled in the program, as well as those interested in the program and
those in the process of applying. I processed applications from the students and
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handled the various applications and contracts submitted by the various corporate
and organizational sponsors. Beyond these administrative duties, I served as an
advisor and resource for students encountering problems at their internship site.

Communication 259, Communication for Business and the Professions (Fall
2000): This course covers basic public speaking, small group theory, and
introduces non-verbal communication topics. The course is designed for practical
application to business and professional development.
Graduate Teaching Assistant (Fall 1998 to Spring 2000),
Interdisciplinary Humanities Program, Arizona State University

Humanities 301 and 302: Responsible for weekly discussion sections in
conjunction with undergraduate courses in Western Civilization. Course content
varies by semester. Fall Semester courses cover the development of Western
civilization from Ancient Greece through the early Renaissance. Spring Semester
courses continue the narrative from the Renaissance through the early 1900’s.
Course content emphasizes historical and cultural background material from the
periods covered, with particular emphasis on integrating examples of the periods’
art, architecture, and literature into the students’ understanding of the broader
historical context.
Publications
Hammers, M. (in press). Cautionary tales of liberation and female professionalism: The
case against Ally McBeal. Western Journal of Communication. (Slotted to appear
in the Summer 2005 issue)
Floyd, K., & Hammers, M. (2003). The communication internship: Principles and practices
(2nd Ed.). Dubuque, Iowa: Kendall/Hunt Publishing Co.
Floyd, K., & Hammers, M. (2001). The communication internship: Principles and practices.
Dubuque, Iowa: Kendall/Hunt Publishing Co.
Manuscripts
Submitted for
Consideration
Hammers, M. (submitted January 2005). The politics of the female body: The Vagina
Monologues and the public deployment of taboo topics. Submitted to Women’s
Studies in Communication.
Work in
Progress
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


Ethnographic analysis of the V-Day College Campaign. This project is based
upon work done for my dissertation. Funding to conduct and analyze
additional interviews has been applied for through the LMU New Faculty
Research Grant.
Rhetorical analysis of representations of lesbian relationships in Buffy the
Vampire Slayer. This project has evolved to include work with a student who
is pursuing a rhetorical analysis of Showtime’s series “The L-word.”
Dual ethnographic and rhetorical analysis of online fandom and fanfiction
groups and their function in the construction of individual identity and the
queering of female desire. This project is in its initial stages. A Raines
Research Assistant is working with me on the literature review.
Ideas
For New
Projects
 A rhetorical analysis of the relationship between the V-Day/V-World social
movement and the local grassroots movements that the larger organization
attempts to support and fund. This project is the result of an overlap between
my work and the work of Dr. Nina Reich who brought some concerns raised
by the mothers of the Juarez femicide victims to my attention. I hope that this
project will be something that I can work with Dr. Reich on as well as with
one of my Raines Research Assistants who also is involved in the Women of
Juarez social movement.
Competitive
Paper
Presentations
Hammers, M. (2003). Stripping for a living: Dancing, fieldwork, and the discipline(s) of
display. Presented as part of the Top Four Paper Panel for the Ethnography division
of the National Communication Association. Miami, FL.
Hammers, M. (2003). Popular media, discourse, and the body: Further exploration of image
events as tools for change. Sponsored by the Rhetorical and Communication Division
at the annual meeting of the National Communication Association. Miami, FL.
Hammers, M. (November 2002). Walking the line between the comic and burlesque:
Tendencies toward rejection in representations of women professionals on television.
Sponsored by the Kenneth Burke Society at the annual meeting of the National
Communication Association. New Orleans, LA.
Hammers, M. (November 2002). Happily ever after: Romance and patriarchy in NBC’s The
Tenth Kingdom. Sponsored by the Critical and Cultural Studies Division at the
annual meeting of the National Communication Association. New Orleans, LA.
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Hammers, M. (March 2002). Ally McBeal: A cautionary tale of liberation and female
professionalism. Sponsored by the Media Studies Interest Group at the annual
meeting of the Western States Communication Association. Long Beach, CA.
Panel
Presentations
Hammers, M. (2004). Looking back, looking within, moving forward: The Vagina
Monologues and the rhetorical status of the female body. Presented as part of the
panel Moving forward while looking within public/private sphere research.
Sponsored by the Rhetoric and Communication Theory Division at the annual
meeting of the National Communication Association. Chicago, IL.
Hammers, M. (May 2002). Professing rhetoric, communication style. Presented as part
of the panel The rhetoric of professional development, a roundtable of graduate
student perspectives, at the bi-annual meeting of the Rhetoric Society of America.
Las Vegas, NV.
Hammers, M. (March 2002). Performing the professional, or unruly bodies and the
question of competence. Presented as part of the panel Civility creates, constrains,
and liberates rhetorical theory and practice, at the annual meeting of the Western
States Communication Association. Long Beach, CA.
Hammers, M. (March 2000). Performing gender while practicing law: Critical readings of
performed femininity in Ally McBeal. Presented as part of the panel Performing
gender and sexuality: Attempted transition – try, try again, at the annual Southwest
Graduate Literature Symposium. Tempe, AZ.
Other
Conference
Participation


Participant, Pre-conference Seminar on Public Sphere Studies. At three
consecutive NCA conventions (2002 through 2004).
Will co-submit and facilitate the Public Sphere Seminar for the 2005 NCA
convention.
Departmental
Service
Loyola Marymount University, Communication Studies Department



Member, Rank and Tenure Committee (Fall 04).
Member, Scheduling Committee (Fall 04).
Member, Advising Committee(Fall 04).
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University &
Community
Service
 Co-Chair, Ph.D. Students of Communication Association (Fall 2000 to Spring 2002)
 Officer, Graduate Students of the Humanities Association (Fall 1998 to Spring 2000)
 Executive Board Member & Production Liaison, V-Day College Campaign and Vagina
Monologues Campus Production (2003-2004 Production Year)
 Volunteer, Arizona State University, V-Day College Campaign (January 2003 to August
2003)
Professional
Memberships
& Activities


Member, National Communication Association (2002 to present).
Participant, Alliance of Rhetoric Societies Conference (September 2003), Evanston, IL.
Prior
Professional
Experience
CARRINGTON, COLEMAN, SLOMAN & BLUMENTHAL, L.L.P., Dallas, Texas
Litigation Associate, September 1995 to August 1998

Handled small litigation cases. Played lead role as primary client contact and had
primary responsibility for case management in mid-sized employment case. Drafted
summary judgment motions and supporting briefs for state and federal courts. Conducted
and defended depositions.